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Click here to return to School Board Minutes APPROVED WINDHAM SCHOOL BOARD Public Session Workshop Meeting November 27, 2007 SAU #28 School Board Members: Al Letizio, Barbara Coish, Beverly Donovan, Beth Valentine Superintendent: Dr. Frank Bass Assistant Superintendent: Roxanne Wilson Business Administrator: Toby Eaton Chairman Al Letizio called the Public Session of the Windham School Board to order at 6:03 p.m. at the SAU #28. Motion of come out of non-public under RSA 91:A3 2(c) was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson. Barbara Coish yes; Bruce Anderson yes, Beverly Donovan yes; Beth Valentine yes; Al Letizio yes. Athletic Plan Chairman Letizio noted for those in attendance, that this meeting was not a meeting for the public to speak, but rather a workshop meeting for the School Board. Mr. Letizio gave an overview of the athletic vision for Windham High School and requested input from other School Board members. Bruce Anderson stated he would like to approve what will be done with the whole site. He stated the two most important items to discuss were the stadium on the proposed Gage land site and the need for a 2nd gym. Mr. Anderson stated he felt the additional diamond(s) request should be made down the road and not at this time. Mr. Anderson noted that 8 acres of Gage land should be requested and not 16 acres. Beth Valentine stated she agreed with Mr. Anderson. She noted she was concerned with asking for the whole 16 acres. Barbara Coish stated she can agree with the vision and understands the need for the track and field on the Gage land but is not going to ask for more money now. Mrs. Coish requested that all five (5) of the School Board members be present when a meeting is to be held with the Board of Selectman. Beverly Donovan stated she is disappointed that the Board did not go back to review the proposal of the stadium on the proposed Middle School site. She stated she thought both schools would be able to utilize it easily. She noted she would like to see it back on the other side of the road. Al Letizio stated he did not think the Board needed further study on this matter and that if placed on the other side of the road, then students would have to be bused for its use. He felt it was not appropriate for Middle School and High School students to play on the same fields. Mr. Letizio noted it would be a net gain for Conservation with regard to the School Board giving back land. Mr. Letizio further stated he would like the diamonds included in the Master Plan. Beth Valentine stated she did not think the Gage land was a hot topic. She noted it is the town s land and that she does want to be respectful of Conservation. She stated she will never support a stadium on the existing 32 acres near the proposed Middle School and that parking would be a huge safety issue and a strategic error. She stated she would support the softball and baseball diamonds on the existing 32 acres. Mrs. Valentine questioned if Middle School fields could be used by the freshman. Bruce Anderson stated he had a hard time asking for diamonds now. He also stated he would only swap current Middle School land. Al Letizio noted that the trails on the existing Gage land would not be affected. Motion that School Board accepts Conceptual Master Plan (Reference CMP 1) with stipulation that the athletic facilities located on Gage land will have town approval to use said land was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson. 3-2 (Beverly Donovan and Barbara Coish in the negative) Members discussed current motion. Beverly Donovan stated she is disagreeing with the Motion because she felt the Board sped through it and that she still has a lot of questions and that more time should be taken before deciding. She also stated she has questions about the materials used in turf fields. Mr. Letizio stated the Board methodically went through the process and that although he respects what Mrs. Donovan is saying, the Board needs to make a decision. Motion to amend previous motion to stipulate that two (2) baseball and softball fields with field hockey be positioned to maximize future use of land on that site was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Beth Valentine. Approved 4-1 (Barbara Coish in the negative). Beth Valentine requested that the School Board s gratitude be passed on to the Athletic Committee for the tremendous amount of time put into scheduling. Special Education Budget Tina McCoy discussed the reorganization of the presented budget this year, noting it is a much better way of tracking expenditures. She noted the budget is up 9.4% Mrs. McCoy discussed space issues. She noted the following: special transportation is stable at this time; growing numbers of Instructional Assistants; shared expenditures with Pelham; relocatable classrooms and that Pelham was leaving in the fall of 2009. Mrs. McCoy noted that much of what is in the budget is mandated and that there is only a small amount of play within the budget to cut out. Beth Valentine questioned if projected enrollment numbers dropped. Mrs. McCoy noted they did not. Bruce Anderson questioned if the proposed budget included the students going to Salem High School. It was noted they did. Beth Valentine discussed the Windham Middle School self-contained program. It was noted that this program was working out very well and that all students have stayed within this program. It was also noted that a self-contained program will be started at the high school. Dr. Bass noted that special education was a costly venture. It was noted that the total district budget would be affected by special education by 1 %. Tina McCoy spoke of the need for a liaison position for the new high school. She noted she has a person already who is familiar with the students involved both in Windham and Salem. Motion to accept special services budget as proposed for fiscal year 2009 by Mrs. McCoy was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan. Approved 5-0. School Budget Reviews Golden Brook School Toby Eaton discussed Mrs. McGuire s proposed budget. Barbara Coish stated there wasn t any place to put the requested teachers without having portable classrooms. Mr. Eaton stated he studied the requests and the present layout of the school and noted his solution would be to absorb the enrollment numbers into the existing classrooms. Bruce Anderson questioned the $90,000 increase noting that increase did not include teacher position requests. Barbara Coish stated an Assistant Principal is needed at Golden Book. Beth Valentine stated an Assistant Principal is needed when the population reaches 500 students. She suggested putting this request on a Warrant Article. Bruce Anderson questioned the timing of the hiring of an Assistant Principal and how it would relate to the retirement of Mrs. McGuire. Dr. Bass stated he will discuss the $90,000 budget increase with Mrs. McGuire and report back to the School Board. Barbara Coish stressed that Golden Brook School needs a lot of maintenance and would like to see the line item for maintenance raised in the proposed budget. Regarding enrollment numbers, Mr. Letizio stated the Board will need to come to some acceptance of how to determine proper anticipated enrollment numbers. Beth Valentine stated if enrollment numbers look like they are up in April, then to perhaps hire an Instructional Assistant. It was noted that Toby Eaton will double check that desks were purchased last year for that enrollment increase. Windham Center School Toby Eaton discussed the discrepancy in the total budget increase amount with the Board. He noted he already discussed it with Principal Desrosier. Mr. Eaton stated his amount was correct. Motion to accept Windham Center School s budget as proposed was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Approved 5-0. Windham Middle School Toby Eaton discussed the Middle School Budget. Motion to accept Windham Middle School s budget as proposed without staff was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Approved 5-0. Snowplow Bid Mr. Eaton distributed recent snowplow bidding to the Board for their review. Motion to accept snowplow bid of Muir Landscaping as presented was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson. Approved 5-0. Planning Team Teacher requests were discussed for the possibility of Warrant Articles. Golden Brook School the position of Assistant Principal was discussed, noting this position would be very much needed when Kindergarten starts. Beth Valentine suggested looking at long-term substitute (a retired professional) for the position. Dr. Bass suggested hiring a teacher s assistant who could help with administrative duties in the interim. Beverly Donovan questioned if the stipend for head teacher would be done away with. It was noted that it would. Dr. Bass noted that kindergarten could be held at the high school for a while if needed and that an Assistant Principal would help significantly. Motion to move forward to hire Assistant Principal for fiscal year 2009 for Golden Brook School was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Approved 5-0. Beth Valentine stated she is uncomfortable with the projected enrollment numbers presented and would like to get more creative with the Assistant Principal position. Consensus of the Board to put Assistant Principal as a Warrant Article. Al Letizio yes; Beverly Donovan yes; Barbara Coish yes; Bruce Anderson yes; Beth Valentine yes. Windham Middle School requested teaching positions were discussed. The Board discussed enrollment numbers and the need for a grade six teacher and a health teacher. Consensus of Board for a Grade 6 teacher. Barbara Coish yes; Bruce Anderson yes; Beth Valentine yes; Beverly Donovan yes; Al Letizio yes. Consensus of the Board for a health teacher. Barbara Coish yes; Bruce Anderson yes; Beth Valentine yes; Beverly Donovan yes; Al Letizio yes. Consensus of the Board for a Grade 8 teacher. Barbara Coish yes; Bruce Anderson yes; Beth Valentine yes; Beverly Donovan yes; Al Letizio yes Consensus of the Board for a Grade 6 Spanish teacher. Barbara Coish yes; Bruce Anderson yes; Beth Valentine yes; Beverly Donovan yes; Al Letizio yes Motion to put three teacher requests, Grade 6, 8 and Health into Budget and place Spanish teacher request as a Warrant Article was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan. Approved 5-0. Windham High School Dr. Bass discussed the baseline of what would be needed for the initial hiring of staff for the high school. The following positions were discussed and consensus was made: Principal; Dean of Humanities; Dean of Math and Science Dean of Humanities/English Social Studies; Dean of Fine Art; Maintenance Specialist (1/2 year); Library Media Specialist; Athletic Director. Glenn Davis stated a Maintenance Director would be needed for the 2nd half of the year, as systems would not be ready before then. This position went from full year to year. Mr. Davis stated that the library would need to be reviewed soon with regard to shelving type/size. Warrant Articles Article 1 Election of Officers change (c) to read two (2) School Board members. The rest of the Article stays the same. (Last year s Articles 2, 3, & 4 deleted) Other Articles Discussed
The Board discussed whether or not the vote of the Board should show on Warrant Articles. They also discussed if names of Board members should also be shown. Motion that on any Warrant Article other than unanimous, that ballot reflects count and identifies School Board member(s) name(s) if it is legally sound was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Discussion regarding Motion was had. Bruce Anderson noted his issue with placing names on the Ballot would cause a conflict for him. Beth Valentine stated it would mean taking ownership for a decision. Al Letizio suggested it be placed in the newspaper and on a voter guide. Barbara Coish withdrew her 2nd of the Motion on the floor. Beth Valentine withdrew her total Motion. Motion that names appear on Article(s) was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Approved 5-0. Additional Warrant Article Discussion Bruce Anderson stated he would like to see 4 separate Warrant Articles regarding athletic vision. 1) Stadium; 2) 2nd Gym; 3) 2 Diamonds; 4) Artificial turf on 2 existing rectangles. Barbara Coish stated she would support turfing existing rectangles but with the addition of lighting. Al Letizio stated he would not support lighting around existing rectangles. Beverly Donovan questioned what to do if the town says yes to diamonds but no to a stadium. Bruce Anderson responded by stating this is why he would like to see the whole master plan. He also stated he thought getting 8 acres would be easier and putting diamonds on our existing site would be best. Beth Valentine stated the Board deals with so much information, but the average voter does not noting we need to be strategic and smart. Consensus of the Board to have separate Warrant Articles was made. Bruce Anderson yes; Barbara Coish yes; Beth Valentine yes; Beverly Donovan yes. Al Letizio no. Chairman Letizio polled the School Board regarding a multipurpose athletic facility with full build out on proposed site for $3,850,000. Bruce Anderson yes; Barbara Coish no; Beth Valentine yes; Beverly Donovan no; Al Letizio yes. Beth Valentine questioned private funding for some part of the multipurpose facility. She noted the Endowment Committee. Mr. Letizio stated he would like to leave it open for the Endowment and suggested putting some wording on the Warrant Article stating such. It is the intention of the Board to put this suggestion out to the Endowment Committee. Bruce Anderson stated he understood it is difficult to ask for money now, but he thought the public should have a choice and noted the site work would be easiest to do now. Beverly Donovan stated she would be willing to bond for the site work and then ask for fundraising. She noted that Endowment is waiting to hear from the School Board as what they want in dollar amount(s). Al Letizio stated at a minimum, the Board should ask the public what they want and that he would be ok if the town said no but that the facts should be presented. Chairman Letizio polled School Board members about putting it out to voters. Bruce Anderson yes; Beth Valentine yes; Barbara Coish no; Al Letizio yes; Beverly Donovan yes only to a 2nd Gym. Beth Valentine questioned the legality of the wording for the Endowment Committee. Beverly Donovan clarified that it is alright for Endowment to make a Grant to the School Board after the fact. Noting you could accomplish other things with it. Motion for Warrant Article to appear on Ballot in March of 2008 for Multipurpose Athletic Facility for up to $3.85Million was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Beth Valentine. Approved 3-2 (Beverly Donovan and Barbara Coish in the negative). Motion for Warrant Article to appear on Ballot in March of 2008 for a 2nd Gymnasium for up to $900,000 was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson. Approved 4-1 (Barbara Coish in negative). Motion for Warrant Article to appear on Ballot in March of 2008 for three (3) fields; baseball; softball; field hockey for $750,000 was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson. Approved 3-2 (Beverly Donovan and Barbara Coish in the negative). Motion to convert existing rectangle fields to artificial turf with the installation of lighting for up to $1.5million was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Not approved 2-3. Other Business Motion to change bond hearing date to Monday, January 14, 2008 was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Approved 5-0. The following items were noted: NH primary date of January 8, 2008 (no school); School Board acceptance of $1000.00 gift in support of Red Ribbon Week; Windham AREA tuition rate for 2008-2009. Consent Agenda Vendor and Payroll Manifests Building Fund Voucher #1043 $3,285.71 Voucher #1041 $3,285.71 WSD Voucher #1042 $3,007,276.27 Motion to accept Consent Agenda was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Approved 5-0. Mr. Letizio stated he will set a date to meet with the Board of Selectman and the Planning Board regarding Gage land consideration. Motion to adjourn the public session under RSA 91-A: 3II(b) at 11:30 p.m. was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson. Al Letizio-aye; Beverly Donovan-aye; Beth Valentine-aye; Bruce Anderson-aye; Barbara Coish aye. Respectfully submitted - Diane Figaro |
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©2008 Windham School District : 19 Haverhill Road, Windham, NH 03087 : 603.425.1976